


lullaby

by Nori



Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: Drabble, F/M, Female Apprentice, Fluff, Sleepy Cuddles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-07
Updated: 2017-11-07
Packaged: 2019-01-30 18:02:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 419
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12658641
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nori/pseuds/Nori
Summary: Julian's nightmare wakes him up, and that's just not okay in her book.





	lullaby

**Author's Note:**

> idk I just really love nonsexual intimacy and this was as good a spot as any to write some.

“Come here,” she says, patting the space beside her. When Julian hesitates, she rolls her eyes fondly, snagging his wrist and hauling him bodily toward herself. He doesn’t resist, though his face is delightfully flushed, as she directs him to sit in the V of her legs with his back against her stomach.

“Oh, so we’re doing this now, are we?” He says the words with confidence, but she can feel the tension in his shoulders and see how he’s still trembling from the nightmare.

“Yes,” she hums simply, patting his hair gently. When he gives in and rests his head against her chest, she begins to work her fingers against his scalp soothingly. She runs the fingertips of her free hand down the cord of tension in his neck, coming to rest on his shoulder. She tsks softly. “You have to relax, Julian.”

“Ah, right,” he mumbles, stretching out his long legs tentatively. She laughs softly at the way his feet stick out over the end of the bed, patting his chest comfortingly when his shoulders hunch at the sound.

“Relax,” she insists warmly, brushing her fingers through his hair. She feels him take a deep breath and ease back into her hold slightly. It’s not much of an improvement and the shaking hasn’t stopped, but at least it’s something.

She begins to hum as she combs his hair between her fingers, a meandering, rhythmless melody low in her throat. He stays quiet, though she can tell he’s still awake by the carefully measured quality of his breathing. The trembling fades, although the tension held in his back remains.

“You don’t–” he speaks up after a few minutes of quiet, but she shushes him with a finger across his lips.

“You have to sleep,” she urges. He huffs a laugh, tipping his head back to look up at her through the curtain of his messy bangs. She lays a hand across his forehead, fingers warm against his cool skin, and lays a kiss in his hair. Flushed, he settles back down, heaving a deep sigh that dislodges a fair deal of the tension in his muscles.

Fond and melancholy, she runs her palm down the length of his arm, gently taking ahold of his hand and lifting it up to her mouth. Calmly, she plants a kiss against the leather of his glove, right in the center of his palm.

“It’s all alright,” she whispers, resting her cheek against the crown of his head. “Go to sleep, Julian.”


End file.
